Lady Vols release 2013-14 schedule, announce date for Parker ceremony

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (release) -- After the Southeastern Conference Office unveiled this year’s league schedule on Tuesday, Tennessee Head Women’s Basketball Coach Holly Warlick announced her team’s 2013-14 slate. UT also revealed it will retire Candace Parker’s jersey on Jan. 2 prior to the LSU game.

The defending SEC champion Lady Volunteers, who were 27-8 in 2012-13 and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, will play 18 regular-season games vs. teams that saw postseason action a year ago. That group includes 11 teams that made the NCAA Tournament and five that played in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Warlick’s squad, which enters the campaign ranked No. 3 in Charlie Creme’s espnW 2013-14 preseason top 25, already has four games being televised by the ESPN family of networks, including a pair of “Big Monday” home tilts vs. Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, an “ESPN Sunday” showdown vs. Kentucky and an “ESPN Tip-Off Marathon” match-up at North Carolina. The rest of the TV schedule and remaining start times will be announced at a later date.

Season tickets go on sale starting Tuesday, Sept. 10, and can be purchased by visiting UTTIX.com or calling 1-800-332-VOLS (8657).

Just as it did last season, Tennessee will play its first two contests of the campaign on the road, starting with an in-state foe, followed by an ACC school from a neighboring state.

The Lady Vols will pop the top on the 2013-14 slate in Murfreesboro on Nov. 8 against Middle Tennessee, which the Lady Vols needed overtime to defeat last season, 88-81. A road trip to Chapel Hill comes next, as UT faces a talent-laden North Carolina squad in a contest that is slated to be televised on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Nov. 11 as part of the 24-hour “ESPN Tip-Off Marathon.”

“It’s a great schedule for us,” Warlick said. “I think it is challenging early, when we open with Middle Tennessee and North Carolina on the road. Middle took us to overtime on our home court last season, and North Carolina is a very talented team. Those are two pretty tough games right off the bat.”

The schedule features a trip to the Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam at Freeport/Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island over Thanksgiving, UT’s first international travel since going to the Virgin Islands in 2010-11, and the much-anticipated recognition of Parker before UT opens its SEC slate vs. the Lady Tigers.

Parker’s banner will become the seventh honoring a member of the Lady Vol program, joining head coach emeritus Pat Summitt as well five other players whose jerseys have been retired. That group includes Warlick, Bridgette Gordon, Daedra Charles, Chamique Holdsclaw and Tamika Catchings.

“Candace just exemplifies what it means to be a Lady Vol,” Warlick said. “She plays hard, she’s won championships, she’s won awards, she’s a great role model, she has her degree and she loves this program. She’s what a Lady Vol should be.

“She has represented our country and won gold medals, played in Europe, been named MVP, Rookie of the Year and All-Star Game MVP for the WNBA, won NCAA titles, you name it. Through all of that, Candace has never lost sight of where she’s come from and how hard the road has been to get there. I think she loves this program as much as anyone can.”

In addition to a rigorous 16-contest Southeastern Conference schedule, Tennessee will face 13 non-conference foes, including 2013 NCAA Women’s Final Four participant Notre Dame. The Irish women will make a second-straight appearance in Knoxville on Jan. 20 (7 p.m., ESPN2, “Big Monday”) after UT already has begun conference play. A trip to perennial power Stanford also is on the calendar for Dec. 21.

Besides having the marquee home match-up vs. the Irish, the Lady Vols will welcome non-conference foes Chattanooga (Nov. 14), Georgia Tech (Nov. 17), Tennessee Tech (Nov. 21) and Oakland (Nov. 24) to Thompson-Boling Arena during the first month of the season and Texas (Dec. 8), Troy (Dec. 14) and Lipscomb (Dec. 29) in month two. Lipscomb is coached by former UT graduate assistant and assistant Greg Brown and joins Oakland and Troy in making first-time appearances on the Tennessee schedule.

The home opener vs. the Mocs features the foe from Warlick’s first game as head coach a year ago (an 80-71 UTC win on Nov. 9), while the second home game is against the Yellow Jackets, the team Warlick recorded her first head coaching victory against last Nov. 11.

“It’s a solid home schedule for us,” Warlick said. “Notre Dame is a great home game for us, and I expect the atmosphere to be incredible in Thompson-Boling Arena for that “Big Monday” game. We also have three of our road opponents from last season, Chattanooga, Georgia Tech and Texas, in Knoxville this year. We know what all three programs are capable of doing.

“We also look forward to renewing our rivalry with Tennessee Tech (first meeting since 1991) and adding Oakland, Troy and Lipscomb to our schedule. We can’t express enough how much we enjoy playing in front of our fans, who have helped us lead the nation in attendance 18 times in the past 22 seasons.”

After playing Middle Tennessee and North Carolina to open the season, Tennessee won’t hit the road again until the Junkanoo Jam. In the Bahamas, the Lady Vols are scheduled to face Virginia in a Thanksgiving Day affair at 2 p.m. ET on Nov. 28. Kansas State and SMU will battle in the other Lucaya Bracket game at 4:15 p.m. ET, with the winners of those contests meeting for the championship at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 29. The losing teams play for third place earlier that day at 4:45 p.m.

“I’m excited about the Junkanoo Jam,” Warlick said. “We were looking for somewhere to go and hadn’t been to the Bahamas. Playing Virginia, who we lost to on the road two seasons ago, and facing either Kansas State or SMU (WNIT teams last season) in the second game, we think this will be a good tournament for us to compete and grow as a team.

“When you can take players out of the country to a tropical setting and enjoy that location while also focusing on playing basketball games, it’s a great thing to do. It’s a competitive tournament, so we’re going to be challenged on the court, but we’re also going to enjoy being on the island over Thanksgiving.”

The next true road contest and the final regular-season non-conference game away from Knoxville takes place on Dec. 21, as the Lady Vols head to California to take on Stanford in Maples Pavilion. UT is 22-8 all-time vs. the Cardinal, but the Big Orange possesses only a 5-6 mark in Maples and has suffered losses in each of its last three trips there.

Following the Lipscomb game on Dec. 29, UT launches into league play. This marks the fifth year of the 16-game SEC schedule for women’s basketball and the second with 14 teams. The league slate is a single round robin with one permanent opponent and two random opponents.

Tennessee, of course, will have a road trip to Vanderbilt (Jan. 12), its permanent opponent. The Lady Vols also will travel to LSU (Feb. 27) and Ole Miss (Feb. 6), their two random opponents this season. Other SEC road trips include Georgia (Jan. 5), Mississippi State (Jan. 16), Texas A&M (Jan. 26), Alabama (Feb. 2) and Missouri (Feb. 23). UGA and A&M were NCAA teams last season, while Missouri played in the WNIT.

“The SEC is the toughest conference in the country,” Warlick said. “We had 11 teams in postseason play last year, so that tells you who you’re facing every game. We have two new coaches in the conference who will bring the quality of play up even more, so I don’t expect it to get any easier.”

Tennessee opens up the 2013-14 campaign with one exhibition contest this season. The Lady Vols once again will play Carson-Newman, hosting the Lady Eagles on Nov. 4 and marking the ninth-straight year the teams have met in the preseason.

Postseason play will begin in Duluth, Ga., where Tennessee will try to win its fourth SEC Tournament title in seven seasons on March 5-9 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center.

While Tennessee has its focus squarely on making the NCAA Final Four in Nashville on April 6 & 8, the available paths to Bridgestone Arena have not been revealed. The NCAA will announce the sites for the First and Second Rounds and Regionals no later than Oct. 1.

“The Final Four is our goal, whether it’s in Nashville or New Orleans like it was last season,” Warlick said. “We’re going to embrace it, because it is special to be there. I hope it gives us more incentive, more motivation to play for a national championship in our home state.

“We’re not shying away from it. It’s something we are talking about. It’s a great opportunity and should be a great motivation for our team this season.”

For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women’s basketball program, visit UTsports.com/w-basketball and follow @LadyVol_Hoops on Twitter and Instagram.

LADY VOL HEAD COACH HOLLY WARLICK, ON CANDACE PARKER:

“Candace just exemplifies what it means to be a Lady Vol. She plays hard, she’s won championships, she’s won awards, she’s a great role model, she has her degree and she loves this program. She’s what a Lady Vol should be.

“I think one thing about Candace that not everyone understands is that she has always been about the team. She’s put in the time to be a great individual player, but I think the love for this program and the love for Pat and our staff that was here when she played at Tennessee shows. I am very proud to be a part of her career here. She’s done everything you can possibly do, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving to have her jersey retired at this time.

“Candace has represented our country and won gold medals, played in Europe, been named MVP, Rookie of the Year and All-Star Game MVP for the WNBA, won NCAA titles, you name it. Through all of that, she Candace has never lost sight of where she’s come from and how hard the road has been to get there. I think she loves this program as much as anyone does.”

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